Cheesy Avocado Salad

It’s been raining all weekend here, nonstop! And it’s great because this area needed rain so bad, I don’t even mind having to go to the gym to get my long training run in this morning.

Heavy wind has also been part of the storms and Miko is very unhappy about that, we have to drag him outside to do his business and he still won’t. He’ll poop on the outdoor mats under the over hang to avoid actually going out in the rain, little rascal!

Leela and Skipper don’t seem to mind the weather at all, they have no problem going outside to do their business and coming back into the house soaking wet.

Skipper seems to have more energy with this weather and being stuck inside more, he’s been humping the pet beds a lot lately and sneaks into the front office room when we’re not looking to have a party with the pet beds in there, I’ll find them tossed all over the room upside down and the blankets and pillows separated. So, yeah, guess he’s been feeling really good lately.

I used the indoor time yesterday to create a new avocado dressing to go with a lunch salad, a tangy dressing with a bright rosemary cheesy herb flavor that came out nicely strong.

Creamy Avocado Dressing

1 avocado, seeded and scooped

1 tbsp. dried rosemary or 2 tbsp. fresh

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp. salt

dash of cayenne

1/2 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. dried chives or 1 tbsp. fresh

1 tsp. dried cilantro or 1 tbsp. fresh

1/4 cup water

Place all ingredients into a high speed blender and blend to a smooth and creamy texture. Use as a dressing, dip, or spread. Makes 2-4 servings.

This dressing follows one of my goals to avoid adding oil and using whole fats in recipes instead with the avocado here and the texture and flavor were wonderful.

And added a lot to my colorfully bright salad on a gray, rainy day.

The dressing has a smooth texture with a tangy and bright herb cheesy flavor, just wonderful.

By dinnertime I was craving a hearty, steaming soup with the soggy wet weather and just threw ingredients into a large soup pot until it was great.

I ended up using chopped potatoes, green lentils, chopped onion, chopped carrots, 1 tbsp. curry power, 2 tbsp. miso paste, 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, and about 4 cups of water as the base. And threw in dried chives, dried cilantro, garlic powder, dash of cayenne, salt, and pepper until the flavor was perfect for a hearty curried potato soup. And it was great topped with Trader Joe’s Vegan Mozzarella Shreds for an interesting flavor pairing.

And after all my kitchen experimenting yesterday, I have enough leftovers to get me through today and lunch tomorrow!